PLLC sees a first with three-family-member graduates

Three family members are graduating together this month including a mother/mother-in-law, and two daughters-in-law/sisters-in-law from the Mature Student High School Diploma program. 

Wendy Morrison, Katelyn Moore, and Crystal-Lynn Mineault have brought a first to the Portage Learning and Literacy Centre. Morrison describes her thoughts of graduating with her family members. 

"It's actually very thrilling since I'm 51 and I'm graduating finally," says Morrison. "My daughter Kate and I were in the same classes together, so we kind of helped each other out during the whole time."

Mineault is Morrison's daughter-in-law and notes she was in a separate class.

"I attended different times on Sunday, but I've been trying to go back for the past 10 years," says Mineault. "Once they start going, I got pregnant, so I decided to try it while I was on maternity leave. I'm more of a working body, and not much of a sitting-still kind of person. So, they kind of encouraged me to go through it."  

Morrison says she's glad she chose to go through the course. 

"I would like to encourage anybody who wants to get their GED or school upgrading to go do it at the learning centre," notes Morrison. "The people there that are teaching are very friendly and willing to help you at any chance they can get."

Mineault says her place of employment experienced some circumstances that disabled her from continuing her GED course originally and wasn't able to return until this past fall. 

"I guess I would have been the first one to go, and then the others," says Mineault. "I encouraged them to get involved as well. I only needed two credits to graduate. I encouraged them to go because, of course, nowadays, in order to get a good-paying job or career, they look at whether or not you have your mature grade 12, or a grade 12, or something equivalent to it." 

Katelyn Moore is Morrison's daughter and adds it was exciting to graduate with her mother and sister-in-law.

"Especially at PLLC, they were very helpful in getting us all in at the same time to finish," says Moore. "Everybody would greet us all at the same time and say, 'Hey, Wendy! Hey, Katie' They were very interested in having us all go at the same time and having a mother and daughter there, because they've never had that before. Every time we still go, they still say hi to us and wish we would come back."

The ceremony takes place on the island on June 28.